Q-Codes

Q Codes Commonly Used by Radio Amateurs

Amateur ham radio operators use Q signals (or Q codes) as shorthand to speed up non-voice communication. Each Q signal represents information: advice, an answer, or a call for action. You turn the signal into a question by adding a question mark right after the Q signal. This list of common Q signals shows the meanings of the codes as they’d appear with and without a question mark.

Q-codes

Code

Meaning

Sample use

QRG

Exact frequency

HE TX ON QRG 14205 kHz

QRI

Tone (T in the RST code)

UR QRI IS 9

QRK

Intelligibility (R in the RST code)

UR QRK IS 5

QRL

This frequency is busy.

Used almost exclusively with morse code, usually as a question (QRL? – is this frequency busy?) before transmitting on a new frequency

QRM

Man-made interference

ANOTHER QSO UP 2 kHz CAUSING LOT OF QRM

QRN

Natural interference, e.g. static crashes

BAND NOISY TODAY LOT OF QRN

QRO

Increase power

NEED QRO WHEN PROP POOR

QRP

Decrease power

QRP TO 5 W (As a mode of operation, a QRP station is five watts or less, a QRPp station one watt or less)

QRQ

Send more quickly

TIME SHORT PSE QRQ

QRR

Temporarily unavailable/away, please wait

WILL BE QRR 30 MIN = THAT STN IS QRR NW

QRRR

Land distress

A non-standard call proposed by ARRL for land-based or railroad emergency traffic in situations where response from ships at sea (which listened for SOS) was neither needed nor desired.

QRS

Send more slowly

PSE QRS NEW TO CW (QRS operation – a slower dot rate – is useful during weak-signal conditions; a QRSS mode uses an extremely low code rate on a channel less than 1Hz wide to allow reception under extreme QRP conditions)